Less snow

Winter in the city is no longer what it used to be

Children having a speedball fight in front of the Gloriette, 1935 (left) and today.

(Bild: APA/ÖNB-BILDARCHIV / APA / picturedesk.com)

Yesterday's snow: mild weather and fewer and fewer snowy days make white splendor an absolute rarity in the city of Vienna.

Can you still remember the last time the city was covered in snow? It was a long time ago. The most significant snowfall event in the last 15 years took place between December 2 and 3, 2023. A total of around 20 centimetres of snow fell back then. The events on 9 February 2015 (around 13 cm) and 31 January 2017 (around 12 cm) are also worth mentioning.

Rarely a white Christmas
Winters in Vienna have become steadily milder over the past few decades and snowfall - and therefore a white Christmas - has become a rare occurrence. Childhood memories of daily snowball fights and toboggan rides in the Prater are now a distant memory.

Ever milder winters
The once cold, white and dark season has given way to milder temperatures and snow-free months. In the 1960s, Vienna had an average of 40 days with a snow cover of at least 1 cm in winter. Today, the average is only 25.

The number of days with a decent total snow depth of over 10 cm has even halved from 20 to 10. The reasons? "On the one hand, it's generally snowing less and less often, and on the other, cold phases are more frequently interrupted by extremely mild thaws," explains UBIMET meteorologist Michele Salmi.

Less ice too
Above all, the duration of snow cover is decreasing rapidly. The trend is even more extreme for so-called ice days (days on which the temperature does not rise above 0 degrees): In the 1960s, there were an average of 29 ice days per winter, today there are only 15. In this case too, the change has accelerated greatly, especially in the past 15 years.

Exhibition at the Vienna Museum
An exhibition entitled "Winter in Vienna" is on display at the Vienna Museum until March 16. It sheds light on the changes in wintry Vienna over the centuries.